Gas-furnace.



No. '735,765L PATENTED AUG. 1l, 1903. l P. S. HARVEY.

GAS FURNAGE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9. 1902.

N0 MODEL `readily liftingthe entire top.

UNITED STATESA Patented August 11, 1903.

I,PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL s. HARVEY, 'or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AS'sIeNoR To TIIE ACME GAS co., ou CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

Y' GAS-FURNACE.

ySPECIFICATION forming part of Letters :Patent No. 735,765, dated August 11, 1903. Application filed July 9, 1,902. Serial No. 114,899. (No model.)

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL S. HARVEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Gas-Furnaces, (Oase No. 1,) of which the following is a full, clear,concise,

and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciication. Y Y

My invention relates to gas crucible-furf naces for melting metals by the use of gas as a fuel.

Prominent objects of the invention are to provide a simple, practical, durable, and inexpensive construetion of gas crucible-furnace, to secure the highest possible economy and effectiveness in the use of the gas, and to provide other novel and desirable results, as will be hereinafter set forth. Y

In the gas crucible-furnace herein shown for carrying out my invention I provide a hollow cylindrical mold in which the Crucible is placed. above the bottom of the hollow mold and gasfuel pipes are extended through the said cy'- lindrical walls of the mold and arranged to direct gas into the space below ,the crucible., and in this space combustion takes place. These several fuel-pipes are connected with a manifold, which in turn is suitably con.- nected with gas and air Supply pipes. The mold is made of such height that an ingot can lie upon, the ,crucible when the cover of the mold is in place. The mold is desirably surrounded with a cylindrical Acasing somewhat larger than the exterior surface of the mold, and the space between this casing and the mold is desirably filled with mineral wool or similar substance. The top and bottom of the 1n o ld are desirably made removable and the top is conveniently constructed of two parts or portions-a smaller one, which is removable relatively to the larger one to permit feeding of the metal to the-Crucible. Suitable mechanism is desirably provided for ln a gas-furnace so constructed the directing of the gas below the crucible and its combustion there allow the crucibleto be heated in the most The Crucible is supported slightlyY brick or 4other similar material.

desirable manner and with the greatest econ'- omy and effectiveness of gas,-forf obviously the heating occurs at the bottom of the crucible, where it is most desirable that it should occur, and the gas combustion takes place at this locality, where the heat is applied. By the application of heat below the crucible I am enabled to 'arrange the ingot upon the crucible, and to this end the mold is made sufficiently high toA -accommodate the ingot, as before stated. Furthermore, oxidation of the metal at the top of the crucible is prevented, as the refuse matter ou the metal and the carbon dioXid immediately above the same are not disturbed, but are left there to shield the metal from the oxidizing-gases in the chamber. These fundamental and novel results are of great benefit and advantage. In addition to them there are certain other novel and advantageous features of construction which I will point out in a more detailed description ofthe invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical Section of a gas Crucible-furnace embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same, taken on line 2 2 in Fig. l.

The furnace shown in the drawings has a cylindrical mold o, having a removable bottom b,both of which are made of molded fire- The vwalls of the mold a are provided with a plurality of downwardly-inclined openings cc, arranged opposite one another in the mold. The bottom b is provided with a plurality-as, for eX- ample, four, as shownof raised portions or projections CZ' (l, which are desirably made integral with vthe bottom. These projections d d are to support the Crucible e and are arranged in quadrilateral form, with the spaces between them inline with the inclinedopenings c c. A cylindrical metallic casing fsurrounds the mold a, and the space between this casing and the. mold isY desirably filled'lwith mineral wool g or like material; The easing f is provided with aperturesh 7i opposite the outer ends of the apertures c c in the mold. A flat ring c' is arranged below the cylindrical casing f and the outer portion of the mold a and is provided with legs j j, thereby forming a support for the furnace. A flat circular plate or platform 7.: is arranged below the bottom b and is su pportcd by suitable supporting mechanism-as, for example, the crosswise extending straps l l, having their outer ends supported by pivoted cleats m m. One of the straps Z is extended to one side, as at Z, whereby a rod or bar can be thrust down alongside of the furnace from above to strike the cxtension l and unlock the platformv k, so as to throw the same out of adjustment from the floor-level to permit the dumping of molten metal in Case of a broken Crucible.

The mold c is provided with a two-part Cover Consisting of the parts or covers n and o, whereof the Cover n rests upon the mold and is provided with a central aperture p, and the cover o rests upon the cover n and closes the aperture in the latter. The lower portion of the wall forming the aperture p is desir ably beveled, as at q. The small cover o is provided with a central vent r, whose lower end is desirably rounded, as at s. This small cover is conveniently provided with a bail t. The aperture p in the large or main cover n is sufficiently large to allow the insertion of an ingot through it. Both Covers are desirably made of molded fire brick. Suitable mechanism is provided for readily lifting the large cover n, the mechanism shown being a well-known form of cover-lifting mechanism, consisting of a lever u, pivotally connected with ears on a standard fu; a link w, having its lower end connected with the lever u and its upper end pivotally connected with the upper end of a sliding member as, arranged to slide up and down Aon the standard e and having its lower end connected with the cover n, and a pair of chains Iy y, having their upper ends connected with the sliding member .r and their lower ends connected with the cover n.

Gas-pipes z z are arranged in the apertures c c in the mold aand are extended out through the cylindric easing f and connected with a manifold l. The latter is connected by means of a suction T 2 with air and gas pipes 3 and 4, respectively. Both these supply-pipes 3 and 4 are provided with straightway cocks 5 and 6, and the gas-pipe is provided with a Check-valve 7.

In using the furnace the crucible c is arranged upon the projections d d and supplied with a suitable quantity of metal to be melted. The gas and air supplies are then turned on in sufficient quantity and proper proportion, and the mixture passes into the manifold l and thence into the fuel-pipes z a, by which it is directed between the projections d d and into the space below the Crucible. Here it is lighted and combustion takes place so as to heat the Crucible and melt the metal therein. The fumes pass out the vent o.

It will be seen that the Crucible is heated from below and that combustion takes place immediately below the locality where the heat is applied, thus securing the most advantageous point for the application of the heat and procuring the highest degree of effectiveness and economy in the use of the gas. It will also be seen that the wall of mineral wool surrounding the mold prevents the escape of heat and adds to the efficiency of the furnace; also that the method of applying the gas for heating the Crucible allows the mold to be made of such height as `to permit the ingot to be placed upon the crucible, as shown in the drawings. The whirling motion commonly present in furnaces of this kind, by reason of the application of the gas to the crucible in a tangential manner at the sides thereof, is avoided in my furnace, and so the heat is not caused to rise so rapidly nor is there a tendency to blow away the charcoal and lighter portions of metal from the surface thereof. Furthermore, oxidation of the metal at the top of the Crucible is prevented.

B y having the aperture in the cover n large enough for the insertion of an ingot the crucible can be fed as required without removing this main cover. The rounding of the lower corners of the vent in the upper or smaller cover o prevents the roaring of the outgoing gas.

It will be understood that the construction herein shown is capable of modification and change in many particulars without departing from the spirit of my invention and that I do not, therefore, wish to be limited in the claims to the precise construction herein set forth.

What I claim isl. In agas Crucible-furnace, means for supporting the Crucible with a space or Chamber immediately below it, and means for directing the fuel into such space or chamber from the side, as set forth.

In a gas Crucible-furnace, the combination of means for supporting the Crucible with a space or chamberimmediately belowit, and one or more fuel-pipes having nozzles located at the side of the Crucible and pointed inwardly toward said space or chamber, as set forth.

In a gas Crucible-furnace, the Combination of a set of separated supports for the Crucible, and one or more pipes having noz- Zles located at one side of said supports and pointed inwardly to direct fuel below the Crucible, substantially as set forth.

4. In a gas Crucible-furnace, the combination with a set of supports for the Crucible, separated from one another, of one or more pipes inclined downwardly and arranged to direct gas between such supports, substantially as described.

5. In a gas Crucible-furnace, the Combination of a hollow structure forming a chamber for the Crucible, and having apertures in its side walls, a set of upwardly-extending projections formed on the bottom of such hollow structure and separated from one another, a set of fuel-pipes extended through the apertures in the wall of the hollow stru cturc and ar- IOO IOS

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ranged to direct the gas between said proj ections, and connections forsupplying such fuelpipes with fuel, substantially as set forth.

G. In a gas crucible-furnace, the combination of a hollow cylindric mold having side openings, a removable bottom provided with a set of integrally-formed supports separated from one another, means for holding the bottom normally in position, a set of fuel-pipes arranged in said side openings and pointed inwardly to direct fuel to the sides of said supports and means for supplying such pipes with fuel, substantially as described.

7. In a gas crucible-furnace, the combination of a hollow cylindric mold having side openings, a removable bottom provided with a set of integrally-formed supports separated from one another, means for holding the bottom normally in position, a set of fuel-pipes arranged to direct the fuel between the supports on the bottom,meansfor supplying such pipes with fuel, a cylindric metallic casing surrounding the mold, and mineral wool or the like confined in the space between said casing andthe mold, substantially as described.

8. In a crucible-furnace, means for supporting the crucible with a space or chamber below it, one or more pipes arranged in the furnace-walls and pointed inward toward the space below the cru cible, and means whereby said pipe or pipes can be supplied with fuel.

9. In a crucible-furnace, the combination of means for supporting the crucible with a space or chamber below it, and piping having a set or series of nozzles arranged in' annular order around the crucible and pointed inwardly toward the space below the same, substantially as described.

l0. A gas crucible-furnace, comprising a hollow cylindric mold having side openings, a removable bottom provided with a set of upwardly-extending projections separated from one another, means for holding the bottom normally in position, a cylindric metallic casing surrounding the mold, mineral wool or the like confined in the space between said casing and the mold, a removable cover consisting of upper and lower portions, the former of which is provided with a vent, means for raising and lowering the cover, a set of fuelpipes extended through the side openings in the mold and arranged to direct the gaseous fuel between said crucible-supports, a manifold connected with said fuel-pipes, and gas and air pipes connected with said manifold, substantially as described.

il. A gas crucible-furnace, comprising a fire-brick hollow cylindric mold having downwardly-inclined side openings, a removable bottom for said mold, provided with a set of upwardlyextending projections separated vfrom one another, means for supporting' the bottom normally in position, a cylindric casing surrounding the mold and having openings opposite the outer ends of the openings in the mold, mineral wool or the like coniined between said cylindric casing and the mold, a removable top consisting of large and small covers, whereof the large cover rests upon the mold and has a central opening, and the small cover rests upon the large cover and covers said opening, the small'cover being also provided with a central aperture, means for raising and lowering the large cover, a set of fuelpipes confined within said downwardly-extending side openingsin the mold and arranged to direct the gaseous fuel between said projections on the bottom,amanifold connected with said fuel-pipes7 a suction T connected to the manifold, and valved air and gas pipes connected with the suction T, substantially as described. v

12. I n a crucible-furnace, the combination with means for supporting the crucible with a space or chamber below it, and means for directing the fuel from opposite sides into such space or chamber, whereby opposing jets of fuel meet below the crucible where combustion takes place, and also whereby the nozzles are out of the way of matter dripping from the crucible, substantially as described.

13. In a crucible-furnace, the combination of a removable bottom, means forsupporting the same normally in position, and means for engaging said supporting means and holding the same in supporting position, said means being provided with an extension projecting beyond the side of the furnace, substantially as described.

14. In a gas crucible-furnace, the combination with .the bottom, of straps extending transversely of the bottom, and means for engaging said straps to support the same in the bottom, one of the straps being extended beyond one side of the furnace, substantially as described.

.In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 19th day of June, A. D. 1902.

PAUL S. HARVEY. Vitnesses:

A. MILLER BELFIELD, f I. C. LEE.

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